ST. THADDEUS TO BE REGISTERED ON UNESCO LIST
PRESS TV, Iran
March 29 2007
The Church of Saint Thaddaeus, known also as the Black Church (Ghara
Kelisa), in the Iranian province of West Azerbaijan is to be registered
on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites in 2008.
In making the announcement the deputy head of Iran’s Cultural Heritage,
Tourism and Handicrafts Organization said Iranian officials have done
their best to present a complete file of the ancient church to UNESCO.
If the file was incomplete, UNESCO officials would have informed us
up to now, Seyyed Taha Hashemi added.
Iran’s most interesting and notable Armenian monument, the Black
Church is located near one of the districts of Maku, a town in the
northwest of Iran.
One of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, Thaddeus was martyred while
spreading the Gospel to this part of the country in the first century.
Some 300 years after his death, the locals constructed the church to
commemorate the apostle.
Not much appears to remain of the original church, which was restored
in the 1329 after an earthquake destroyed the structure in 1319.
Most of the present structure dates back to the 17th century when
the Qajar prince Abbas Mirza renovated and repaired the structure.
These additions are from carved sandstone. The earliest parts are of
black and white stone.
Numerous pilgrims from all over the world gather at the church each
year for the traditional feast-day of St. Thaddeus.